Showerthought: That pollinator-friendly fence border is a hit with the neighbors

Put in a native plant strip along a backyard fence to help local bees and butterflies. It's been a few months and the colors are great, plus it needs less watering than grass. What easy-to-grow plants have you tried for similar setups?

4 comments

4 Comments

oliver_nguyen151mo ago

Nice. Did you have to convince the neighbors it wasn't just messy weeds?

logan_mitchell1d ago

My neighbor actually asked me the same thing last spring. I told him to wait a month and then decide. Once the bees showed up, he changed his tune. It's about the function, not just a neat lawn. Hayden_ramirez is right, people come around after the first big bloom. A little mess means life. I don't worry about convincing anyone anymore.

hayden_ramirez1mo ago

Your pollinator border sounds wonderful. I put in a mix of coneflowers and black-eyed Susans along my fence last year, and they've been thriving with little care. @oliver_nguyen15 brought up a good point about neighbors thinking it's messy, but after the first bloom, everyone on my street loved the extra color and life. Those plants are really tough and spread nicely without taking over. I've also had luck with bee balm and lavender for keeping things simple and drought-resistant.

smith.nancy1mo ago

How did you handle the first few weeks before they bloomed? (I'm worried about the 'messy' phase too.)